Friday, October 08, 2010

French prosecutor blocks probe into kickback allegations

PARIS: The Paris prosecutor’s office is blocking an investigation into whether corruption surrounding a defense contract was linked to a 2002 car bombing in Karachi that killed 14 people.

The sensitive case includes allegations of wrongdoing that have reached high levels of French politics.

The prosecutor’s office said in a statement on Thursday that investigating judge Reynaud van Ruymbeke had launched a probe into corruption links. But the prosecutor’s office immediately appealed, saying the judge was not authorised to do so.

Van Ruymbeke was already investigating the 2002 attack in Karachi, which was initially blamed on extremists. His new investigation would include accusations of corruption related to a contract selling French submarines to Pakistan. ap

Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk

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